Duchesne Co. woman accused of pointing gun at son's head to stand trial

Bambi Lee Richins and defense attorney Herb Gillespie appear Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, in 8th District Court in Duchesne, where Richins waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Richins, 34, is charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony. She is accused of pointing a gun at her 9-year-old son's head.

Geoff Liesik, Deseret News

Summary

A Duchesne County woman accused of holding a loaded gun to her young son's head and threatening to shoot him has been ordered to stand trial.

DUCHESNE — A Duchesne County woman accused of holding a loaded gun to her young son's head and threatening to shoot him has been ordered to stand trial.

Bambi Lee Richins, of Talmage, waived her right to a preliminary hearing Thursday in 8th District Court. Richins, 34, is charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony; aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and witness tampering, a third-degree felony.

Defense attorney Herb Gillespie told Judge Lyle Anderson his client's decision to waive the preliminary hearing was based on her desire to continue plea negotiations with prosecutors. Gillespie added that he also has additional physical evidence that he wants prosecutors to see before the case proceeds any further.

Duchesne County sheriff's detectives interviewed Richins' children in July, after the state Division of Child and Family Services received an anonymous complaint.

Richins' 9-year-old son told a detective his mother became angry with him while he was cleaning the living room, pointed a .22-caliber handgun at his head and said, "I am going to blow your head off," according to charging documents.

"(The boy) indicated Bambi showed him the .22 handgun and told him it was loaded," the charges state. "(He) stated he saw the gun was loaded. Bambi then told (her son) she was going to put the .22 firearm in his mouth and pull the trigger."

Richins' daughter was in the home and saw her mother holding the handgun, but she could not see whether it was pointed at her brother, detectives said.

Richins told the children "if they said anything, they would be placed in foster care and never see her again," the charges state.

Gillespie said after court Thursday that the children are in the custody of family members. Richins is working with the Division of Child and Family Services to be reunited with her children, he said.

Gillespie declined to discuss the additional evidence he wants prosecutors to examine.